Two hours after, Anna finally started making her way towards the Roses Garden. There were no roses, nor any flowers as Anna expected, however, there were evergreen berries everywhere, and if someone were to look from her room a rose pattern would be seen. In the centre, a white gazebo stood proudly. It's marble surface lightly reflected the sun rays, Anna gently touched the flower patterns sculptured in the alabaster.
"It's beautiful." mesmerised Anna completely forgot about the eventful day for a short while. She listened to the chirping of the spring birds, while the maids set up the lunch in the gazebo. Delighted, Anna dismissed the maids and the two guards that accompanied her for the short trip to the garden.
Although it was unusual for Selda to let the maids go before throwing a tantrum complaining about something insignificant, they said nothing as they silently escaped, leaving Anna completely alone.
"They sure don't fulfil their job properly." said the snake while sitting on the opposite chair at the rounded table. Normally at least two guards were to watch over an important person, even more so as she was a princess.
"No one wants them anyway. This gives me time to look into the situation." she stretched her small hands towards the slice of bread with foie gras. By now, Anna became accustomed to this 5-year-old body she just landed in. Although it was a pain how slow she managed to walk, compared to how she used to speed walk in her laboratory back on Earth, she couldn't complain because every time she looked at her adorable appearance in the mirror she felt like hugging herself. Anna looked at the reflection of her face in the tea she was enjoying, she really adored herself now.
"I really think you are becoming more narcissistic the more you look at yourself." Angus picked up a grape using it's mist and placed it in its mouth.
"Mind your business! Don't I just look magnificent? Look at these rosy cheeks. Look at this small pointy nose. Cute! Oh I am so cute!" giggled Anna while poking her own cheeks.
"Oh I see, how can I not! Although I can't seem to see any brain in that head of yours." stated the snake while rolling its eyes.
Anna threw a strawberry his way, which landed right in his mouth making him choke.
"Cough! Cough!"
"That's what suits you! You rant too much!" laughed maliciously Anna while brushing her hair to the side so she wouldn't eat it.
"Oh by the way! Your Holiness..." snickered Anna
"How should I call you?"
"I am Angus!" grunted the black snake. "I am the Precious Son of Leemar."
"Who the fuck is that?"
"Aham! Well, it's a long story but shortly put, he is the God of prosperity. Your Earth didn't call us this way. We interact differently with each Earth we rule, depending on how we decide its the best." Angus puffed his chest while stating the facts.
"You don't have a mother?"
"Of course! ....I....have."
"Who is it?" Anna noticed Anguses discomfort.
"You don't need to know this!"
"Well how about I go tell my father, the Emperor, that I have a snake pestering me. I think he would be able to find out who your mum is. Or even better....send you where she is!" laughed Anna.
"You wouldn't!" yelled the snake terrified.
"He would kill you too!"
"If that means getting rid of you, I am more than happy to make this sacrifice." smirked Anna, while sipping some Jasmine tea.
"There's n-no need!" cried the snake.
"Somehow we formed a link, take it more like a contract. I have no idea how you managed to do it, but now we are interlinked."
"So I take it that you have the short end of the stick?" putting down the teacup Anna picked a jam sandwich and stuffed it all in her mouth.
From what she gathered it seems that the snake depends on her life in order for him himself to live. If she dies that means he dies as well, simple as that. Which means she can use him to the fullest in order to change this cursed life of hers. Now that she was occupying the 5-year-old body of Princess Selda she needed to live her life in the most lavish way she could. His knowledge as a higher being could help her get acquainted with the new world before anyone noticed Anna's different behavioural characteristics.
"Of course!" angrily he choked on the piece of grape he was chewing on.
"This God ended up with such a foul woman as yourself."
"You still haven't told me who your mother is." Anna tried to ignore his sense of superiority and an enormous ego.
"She....hmph...well since you will probably hear read about it in the Ancient Texts I might as well tell you. My mother was a human...this is why I, the product of their love ended up as an opposite power compared to my father." normally when two Gods became one their child ended up with the most proficient power of the two. Like a hierarchy, different God's have different powers and extent to which they can use it. However, when two different species such as an elf and human or like Anguses case, they either end up with no power making them a cursed being or they get an opposite power to that of the most proficient parent. In Anguses case, because her mother had no magical powers, the opposite power could very easily be deducted. His father had a light holy power thus Angus received a dark holy power.
"This is how I ended up with the power of death. But because I had a small power compared to Griella, the true Goddess of Death, I ended up in the library to oversee the books." dejected Angus continued to chew even if he had nothing in his mouth.
"Oh I guess that makes sense. But that would make you a demigod or not?" Anna had no sympathy for Angus.
"Anyway...you mentioned Ancient Texts. What are those?"
"They contain the written history of an Era before the one you get to live in. Majority of its content disappeared at the end of the Great Vendetta. It's irrelevant to you humans anyway, but we as Gods forgot it as well, after Genau - the God of Time erased all memories of both humans and Gods. Some Gods destroyed the Ancient Texts while some still survived, they have so little information that is as if they didn't exist."
Besides this, humans cannot understand much of Ancient Texts, because they were written by ancient species that no longer dominate the world.
'I wonder how Aura got to understand them then.' Anna realised that Aura is not as simple as she seems, even for a child her age to be able to cast a so-called curse on her.
"Has Aura really cursed me then?"
"No, nothing of sorts. That incantation of hers made you sleep for 2 weeks. It was a medical prescription to cure insomnia. The fact that you drowned was a result of you falling asleep and tripping over the boat."
"Does that mean that I am not cursed?" asked Anna.
"No...you still are Godless in the sense that you have no magical powers."
"Do I get to awaken or something?"
"What?? Oh Lord...No!!...what kind of stories have you read? You either get powers at birth or you don't. Easy as that." the snake rolled his eyes.
"That means I get to use yours right?" innocently Anna grabbed Angus by the tail and brought it closer to herself.
"Wh-what? Wait what? Where did you get that idea?" he tried to escape her grip but couldn't. Terrified he looked her way. She was pointing at her small tattoo on her right arm.
"I give up!" said the snake dejected.
"I guess you found out the type of contract we have."
"But of course! I'm not that dumb." yelled Anna.
"Yeah keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll convince yourself." smirked Angus escaping her clutch.
"Just you wait. I'll become the greatest wizard in history."
"Wizards don't exist you twat! Only mages, but since you have no core you won't fit the criteria for that." laughed Angus. Anna got fed up with him and started throwing food his way.
'I'll show you who's not qualified.' However, Angus swiftly avoided all objects like the snake he was. He seemed to be getting used to this type of punishment, so Anna mind raced developing new ways to torture him.
Just as she was thinking of applying a good one, a group of 5 people came rushing towards the gazebo.
"Who are you talking to?" yelled someone.